Eikoh Hosoe's groundbreaking Kamaitachi was first published in 1969 in a limited edition of 1,000 copies. This exquisite volume has never before been available outside of Japan and has long been out of print. In homage to the creativity and craftsmanship of the original object, and in collaboration with the photographer, Aperture is delighted to re-create the unique artistry of this book. Each of the pages is printed as an individual gatefold, each of which opens to reveal a single, stunning black-and-white image. The ...
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Eikoh Hosoe's groundbreaking Kamaitachi was first published in 1969 in a limited edition of 1,000 copies. This exquisite volume has never before been available outside of Japan and has long been out of print. In homage to the creativity and craftsmanship of the original object, and in collaboration with the photographer, Aperture is delighted to re-create the unique artistry of this book. Each of the pages is printed as an individual gatefold, each of which opens to reveal a single, stunning black-and-white image. The exterior of each gatefold is printed in a spectacular azure blue. The effect of opening the book is of stepping into an unknown landscape of theater and baroque sensuality. Kamaitachi was originally published as a singular collaboration between photographer Eikoh Hosoe and the founder of Butoh dance, Tatsumi Hijikata. In 1965 Hosoe and Hijikata visited a small farming village in Tohoku, in northern Japan. Drawing in the villagers as performers and using the rice fields and rural landscape as a theatrical set for an improvisational Butoh performance, Hosoe photographed Hijikata's spontaneous interactions with the landscape and with the people they encountered. Hosoe has called the project "a subjective documentary," an investigation of tradition and an exploration both personal and symbolic of the convulsions of Japanese society. It was inspired by the legend of the kamaitachi, a weasel-like demon who haunts the rice fields and slashes those who encounter him, as well as by the traditional dances of that region. "In what is called 'ethnic dance,'" wrote Hijikata, "we discover the truth that the more vulgar something is, the greater is the beauty expressed."
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Add this copy of Kamaitachi (Signed and Numbered) to cart. $599.00, new condition, Sold by 246 Books rated 1.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Seattle, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2005 by Aperture.
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Seller's Description:
New in new jacket. Kamaitachi (Signed and numbered) ISBN 1931788804 a narrative series of photographs by Eikoh Hosoe of a dance / drama with Butoh dancer Tasumi Hijikata. The photographs refer to stories of a supernatural being, a weasel-sickle, that haunted the Japanese countryside of Hosoe's childhood. For Hosoe, the story is both mythical and autobiographical. Originally published in 1969 in an edition of 1000, long out of print. This is the first publication since. A delux, signed and numbered edition of 500. A hardcover book designed by Ikko Tanaka in a clamshell box by Taddanori Yohoo. Preface by Shuzo Takiguchi and poem by Toyoichiro Miyoshi, both in Japanese and English. Unpaginated, 41 two-page gatefolds. Book 15" x 12". Clamshell Box 16" x 12 7/8". A stunning production. New. Foreign shippments will require significant extra postage.
Add this copy of Kamaitachi to cart. $600.00, very good condition, Sold by Moe's Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Berkeley, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2005 by Aperture.
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Seller's Description:
Near Fine in Near Fine jacket. Aperture, 2005. Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: new. Kamaitachi (Signed and numbered) a narrative series of photographs by Eikoh Hosoe of a dance / drama with Butoh dancer Tasumi Hijikata. The photographs refer to stories of a supernatural being, a weasel-sickle, that haunted the Japanese countryside of Hosoe's childhood. For Hosoe, the story is both mythical and autobiographical. Originally published in 1969 in an edition of 1000. This is the first publication since. A deluxe, signed and numbered edition of 500. A hardcover book designed by Ikko Tanaka in a clamshell box by Taddanori Yohoo. Preface by Shuzo Takiguchi and poem by Toyoichiro Miyoshi, both in Japanese and English. Unpaginated, 41 two-page gatefolds. Book 15" x 12". Clamshell Box 16" x 12 7/8". A stunning production.
Add this copy of Kamaitachi to cart. $750.00, like new condition, Sold by Moe's Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Berkeley, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2005 by Aperture Foundation.
Add this copy of Kamaitachi: Photographs By Eikoh Hosoe, Limited Edition to cart. $1,120.00, like new condition, Sold by Vincent Borrelli, Bookseller rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Albuquerque, NM, UNITED STATES, published 2005 by Seigensha Art Publishing and Aperture Foundation.
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As New in As New jacket. SHIPPING NOTE: Due to size and weight (e.g., multi-volume sets), additional shipping fees apply (calculated at checkout). First edition thus (originally published in 1969 in an edition limited to 1000 copies), first printing. Deluxe limited edition of 500 hand-numbered copies (this being #99/500), signed (in kanji) in blue ink by Hosoe and with red ink chop mark on card pasted to inside front cover. Hardcover. White cloth-covered boards printed with black graphics; Japanese title printed in blue on spine, with clear acetate dust jacket with English title printed in blue on front; contained in a photographically illustrated laminated custom clamshell box embellished with bold graphics, designed by Tadanori Yokoo. Photographs by Eikoh Hosoe. Performance by Tatsumi Hijikata. Preface (in Japanese and English) by Shuzo Takiguchi. Poem (in Japanese and English) by Toyoichiro Miyoshi. Book design by Ikko Tanaka. Clamshell design by Tadanori Yokoo. Unpaginated, with 41 two-page gatefolds, with 34 duotone plates printed full-bleed on heavy matte art paper printed in bright blue on one side. Book 15 x 12-1/8 inches; clamshell box 16 x 12-7/8 inches. Out of print. Scarce. As New in As New dust jacket and clamshell box. An absolutely flawless copy (no corner bumps at all to the clamshell, very common to copies of this edition due to inadequate packing for transit). From the publisher: "More than 35 years after it first appeared, Kamaitachi, a long out-of-print masterwork by Japanese photographer Eikoh Hosoe, gets its first publication outside Japan. Not just a reprint but a recreation in collaboration with the photographer and in homage to the innovative original...the book is not just a publication but an objet d'art in itself. Hosoe was known for pushing the boundaries of traditional photography through his interactions with important Japanese artists such as Butoh dancer Tasumi Hijikata and novelist Yukio Mishima. In Kamaitachi, he sought to recapture, with choreographic style, some of the lost landscapes and images of his childhood experience in the closing years of World War II." Signed by Author.
